Random Thoughts: MAGA Plan

Tags

Christian Nationalism, Christianity, Donald Trump, politics, religion

Make no mistake about what MAGA wants to do with America. These anti-democracy advocates believe their dream of replacing the American democracy is within reach through Donald Trump. Too many Americans are of the belief that the American democratic system will hold against those wishing to destroy it. Do not become complacent. The system is only as good as the people in the positions of power.

Democracy was almost ripped out of our hands on January 6, 2021. One man, Mike Pence, is all that stood in the way of a president becoming a dictator. In the four years before that day, one man stopped the president’s impulses to tear down democracy. Sometimes the one man was John Kelly. Other times it was Jim Mattis. Bill Barr even stood up and stopped an effort to steal the election. We were fortunate that some folks in Trump’s administration held the country higher than they held Trump.

But Trump learned from his mistakes and is gathering a list of sycophants to be installed to support his undemocratic and cruel tendencies. Trump isn’t even the biggest concern in protecting our democracy. The much more urgent concern are the folks who compose the core of MAGA believers. These people have had their mind set on tearing down democracy for decades. These folks realize they cannot remain in power when people are free to vote so they have been working to take that freedom away from the masses.

Just this spring an Arizona republican introduced a bill that would let the state legislature decide presidential elections instead of the people making that decision. I hope this bill doesn’t pass but this is the mindset of the MAGA believers.

The core of this group is majority white, majority male and majority Protestant. They see themselves as Christian Nationalists who believe America is God’s chosen country for white people. Do not believe that they are what their name describes.

If the Christian Nationalist movement was a Christian movement, it would look something like Jesus in its lifestyle. If Christian Nationalists were Christian, the teachings of Jesus would be their guiding principle. If Christian Nationalists were Christian they would look like the Christians described by Aristides in 125 CE (Very close to Jesus time on earth.) when he wrote to Roman Emperor Hadrian, “They love one another. They never fail to help widows. They save orphans from those who would hurt them. If they have something, they give freely to the one who has nothing. If they see an immigrant, they take him into their homes and rejoice over him as a brother.”

Sadly, this is not the case. Jesus’ teachings in the New Testament focus on loving others, providing for the less fortunate, welcoming the foreigner and stranger, being humble, gracious, and forgiving, and avoiding the love of money and power. If Christian Nationalists were Christian, they would know Jesus, who didn’t speak English, never mentioned America, The United States or North America. The kingdom of Jesus was not of this earth let alone limited to one country.

No, Christian Nationalists have latched onto the Old Testament (The Jewish scriptures) and conflated talk of conquering nations, killing all the enemies, and enslaving other nations in the name of their god. Jesus moved past these human constructs and taught about one family created by a benevolent Creator, not separate tribes fighting each other.

What Christian Nationalists want to create is a country where they are free to reap the rewards of their status as white protestants while the rest of the country works in servitude to provide those rewards. Jesus never speaks of anyone collection of humans being better than any other. Jesus tells us to care for each other, lift each other up and not lord it over others.

What Christian Nationalists preach is a lie on all accounts. The name itself is the inverse of anything Christian. Christianity supersedes any nation because it is universal and eternal.

Do not be fooled by these people attempting to replace our freedoms with bondage. Remain vigilant and beat this movement back at the polls.

See you next time.

Random Thoughts: Putting Around

Tags

golf, golf-course, golfing, retirement, sports, travel

The putting team sent out a request for new team members. My golfing experience was not the most spectacular two decades ago, but this seemed different. There would be no driving the ball off a tee into the woods. There would be no stomping around futilely in undergrowth looking for another lost ball. There would be no time wading through sand trying repeatedly to get a ball back on the grass. There would be no need to choose the correct club for the next attempt.

On the plus side I was twenty years older but still younger than most of the folks wandering around this retirement resort. The par two 18 hole putting green is just outside the front door of the building where we live. Being a member of the putting team would get me outside on a regular basis. No golf carts were needed to traverse the course.

I signed up. The team needed members to go up against another retirement community for the twice a year home and away tournament coming up in a few weeks. The official claim is that the putting team is a fun exercise. I know better. So, I began to practice every day in order not to embarrass the team at the tournament.

The practice was paying off and I was playing par golf. Maybe this would be fun. We even traveled over to the other community a couple of times to learn their much different course.

The tournament turned out to be fun despite our team losing by 34 points. While talking to one of their players I must have said something about his game and he said, “One oh One”. I was confused for a moment thinking he was sharing his score before I realized he was proudly sharing his age. Wow! I want to be like him when I grow up.

What struck my funny bone the most was the concept of quiet around the whole affair. Trying to be quiet when people are talking to folks wearing hearing aides is not conducive to quiet.  It was a good thing this was all being done for fun. Oh, the final score was indicative of past tournaments when we lost by 36 on their course and they lost by 36 on our course. Maybe it is just for fun. And the food. Of course, they fed us after the last pairing finished and eating is always fun.

Here is a bit of bragging. Our leader played even, and I was the only other one on our team in the 30’s. I didn’t embarrass us and that was fun.

But, now our course was changed around by the leader and I am back to the beginning trying to learn the new course. The course has been beating me badly, so I decided to make some notes on the holes. You know keeping notes just like the pros do.

Two hours later using four balls on each hole I had notes that would hopefully help me do better on this new layout. I never took golf notes before so my efforts may be a bit odd. Or, maybe they may be a lot odd.

Here is a sampling of my notes for your amusement.

One-Firm/straight/less firm putt

Two- almost firm/straight

Four- strong tap/straight

Five- firm/straight

Thirteen- half firm/left

Seventeen- tap strong/ left

I’m not so sure this is going to be any help. Jane says if I know what ‘firm’ means it will be helpful. I’m positive the third hole notes will be very little help.

Third-firm/ left/ good luck putting

I might be in trouble.

See you next time.

A Quest for the Holy Grail: A First World Problem

Tags

baseball, cumbria, hotel-reviews, hotels, photography, travel

Jane and I headed down to Miami for Opening Day on a sunny April afternoon. About an hour later the tire low pressure light lit. I exited the turnpike and pulled into our old Ford garage Quick Lane. Yes, they could fit us in.

The tech tracked us down to inform us that all four of our low-pressure indicator sensors had gone bad. If we hadn’t replaced them, we would not know if we had a real flat so we agreed to an hour for repairs instead of heading south. This was frustrating but I remembered it was a first world problem and folks in Gaza would be thrilled to have this frustration. A sign on the wall of the waiting room was a bit ironic.

We eventually got underway and returned to the highway heading south. The GPS suggested a shorter route, so we went with ‘her’ as we left the highway at Yeehaw Junction passing by the destroyed Desert Inn Restaurant. As early as 1889, the Desert Inn was a bar room and brothel for cowboys and lumber workers.

Throughout the years, the Desert Inn was used as a trading post, gas station, and dance hall. In 1994, after being added to the National Register of Historic Places, the unused rooms above the restaurant were converted into a modest museum that featured a bordello suite with red carpet, lace pillows and a swing.

In the early morning hours of December 22, 2019, a tractor trailer crashed into the side of the inn causing catastrophic damage to the landmark.

Of course this is a first world problem. People in Haiti would love to have some trucks full of food crash into historical landmarks.

Our GPS guided us around Lake Okeechobee which got us excited about the prospect of seeing the big lake up close. This hope was dashed when we realized that the Herbert Hoover Dike built around all 143 miles of the lake shoreline blocked our view.

This was disappointing but it was a first world problem. The people of Ukraine would love to only be disappointed by a dike around a lake.

We did get a view of the huge body of water when we crested a bridge over a canal. The view was breathtaking.

The remainder of the trip was uneventful, and we settled into our hotel excited about the opening day game between the Marlins and our Pirates. This was going to be a serendipitous event because the last time we were in a ballpark was for the last game of the season in Pittsburgh against the same Miami Marlins.

We left the hotel for the stadium with plenty of time for the twenty-minute commute. Ninety minutes later we were within sight of the stadium. Our hope to experience the opening day pregame events and the National Anthem sung by Christie Prades was dashed. The question now was, “Will we make the game on time?’ Another first world problem. The children in Sudan would love to have food to eat so they could arrive late to a ballgame not hungry.

For those of you who haven’t been to a ballgame in Miami the parking garage and the stadium form a canyon-like street between them. We had exited the parking lot and were in the center of this canyon when the Navy fly-by happened. Two Navy jets, maybe Super Hornets, swooped in on us in a hurry. The sound nearly pushed me into the pavement. It was so exciting. Jane, on the other hand, had her hands over her ears and was ducking for cover. Now, that is a first world problem. The people in many third world countries see fighter jets and run for their life.

We found our seats before the end of the first inning and enjoyed a Pirate victory in extra innings.

Winter is officially over, and the boys of summer take center stage. Well, there were still March Madness finals and the NBA Playoffs, but baseball is finally back in the mix. It’s a new season and every team believes, and fan bases believe.

It’s a first world privilege to cheer on our favorite sports teams, win or lose.

See you next time.

Random Thoughts: America During the Trump Presidency

Tags

Donald Trump, gun violence, news, politics, Republicans, Trump

While Donald Trump was the American President the national debt rose by almost $7.8 trillion. That amounts to about $23,500 in new federal debt for every person in the country. Under Trump the deficit ranks as the third-biggest increase, relative to the size of the economy of any presidential administration. Abraham Lincoln and George W. Bush had larger deficit growth during two foreign conflicts and a civil war. The federal debt held by the public went up, from $14.4 trillion to $21.6 trillion.

While Trump was President (he isn’t the President now) the economy lost 2.9 million jobs and the unemployment rate increased by 1.6 percentage points to 6.3%.

While Trump was President (he isn’t the President now) after-tax corporate profits went up, and the stock market set new records. The S&P 500 index rose 67.8%. Yes, the rich got richer.

While Trump was President (he isn’t the President now) the U.S. trade deficit in goods and services was the highest since 2008 (George W. Bush was President) and increased 40.5% from 2016 till the end of his term.

While Trump was President (he isn’t the President now) the number of people lacking health insurance rose by 3 million.

While Trump was President (he isn’t the President now) home prices rose 27.5%.

While Trump was President (he isn’t the President now) illegal immigration increased. Apprehensions at the Southwest border rose 14.7% in 2020 compared with 2016 when Trump was elected.

While Trump was President (he isn’t the President now) coal production declined 26.5%, and coal-mining jobs dropped by 16.7%. Carbon emissions from energy consumption dropped 11.5%.

While Trump was President (he isn’t the President now) handgun production rose 12.5% in 2020 compared with 2016, setting a new record. And not surprisingly the murder rate in 2020 rose to the highest level since 1997 when Bill Clinton was President.

The one crisis he faced was bungled so horrifically that America had the poorest response to the pandemic of all other developed nations. Due to his decision making the U.S. had the most deaths per 100,000 from Covid of the 11 high income countries in the world.

Finally, only one American President stirred up violence, attacking the Capitol in a failed effort to stay in office after being fairly defeated by the votes of American people. Trump is the only President in our history who refused to fulfill his duty to protect the constitution of the United States of America.

Still, we have millions of Americans who want to put this man back in the White House. Still, we have politicians prostrating themselves at the feet of this self-absorbed malignant narcissist who’s stated goal is to put an end to the United States Constitution and America’s freedoms.

People, people, people. Don’t give this man the opportunity to end America. He doesn’t want to make America great again. He wants to remake America in his image. Don’t let it happen.

See you next time.

Random Thoughts: I’m Booked

Tags

retirement

We have tiptoed through the moving in excitement and frustration of a transition and are feeling adjusted to the new place. Mostly. It has been not quite three months since our household belongings found their way from our house in Kissimmee to our apartment in Orlando and we already are no longer the newest arrivals in our retirement ‘resort’. I am still trying to wrap my brain around this new lifestyle while learning the written and unwritten rules that go with any community.

The other day someone asked me to be a part of a volunteer opportunity they lead, and I had to step back and look at my schedule before giving them an answer. It doesn’t appear that I can add another thing to my schedule. My day begins with an hour in the fitness center where I share morning conversation with the other sweating seniors and our ‘adult supervisor”. In a retirement community the supervisors and other staff are all thirty years younger or more than the residents. Living here is like the social order is turned upside down with the more mature members not being the responsible leaders and the younger ones being the providers of services. I’m really enjoying no responsibilities in this new place.

Leaving the gym, I visit with the folks having breakfast in the cafeteria before picking up my cup of coffee to take back to the apartment. Breakfast is next on the schedule followed by time on the putting green practicing for the tournament with another retirement community before I shower. I devote some morning time to my current project of transferring photo album pictures to memory sticks before lunchtime.  

After lunch the walking club boards a bus for another walk around another lake in Orlando which gets me back home in time for a nap. I simply cannot skip nap time. Then there is time in the pool any day the temperature reaches at least 73 degrees. I can’t miss that.

Happy hour is next to arrive so I board the elevator for the trip down to the lounge and time with friends around hors d’oeuvres, beer/wine and laughter.  Jane stops on the way to the third meal of the day, and we slip into the dining room for food and fellowship. The evening mealtime is usually a ninety minute to two-hour affair with Jane and I often being kicked out so the staff can finish cleaning and setting up for the next day.

Back in the apartment we ooze into a baseball game and the ice cream we brought with us from the third meal. After nine innings (before if the game is on the west coast) it is bedtime.

There is no room for another activity on my retirement schedule. I’m booked.

See you next time.

A Quest for the Holy Grail: Hialeah

Tags

Florida, history, horse-racing, photography, poetry, sports

On a visit to Miami (more on this quest in another blog) I stopped at Hialeah Park in Hialeah, Florida, to soak up a bit of history.

The Hialeah Park Race Track (also known as the Hialeah Race Track or Hialeah Park) is a historic racetrack covering 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah. It was originally opened as a Greyhound racing track in 1922 by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss and his partner, Missouri cattleman, James H. Bright.

The facility was severely damaged by the 1926 hurricane known as the Great Miami Hurricane that had 150 mile per hour sustained winds and 11 feet storm surges.

Five and a half years later Hialeah Park officially opened on January 14, 1932 as a horse racing venue. An Australian totalizator for accepting parimutuel betting was the first to be installed in America. The park became so famous for its flamingo flocks that it was officially designated a sanctuary for the American Flamingo by the Audubon Society.

I wandered around the grand old lady unhindered by security, street vendors or concessionaires.

Never being a horse racing fan, I was intrigued by the place. Standing against the rail

I tried to imagine the thunder of hoofs as the horses and jockeys came blasting by throwing clouds of dirt into the air.

I closed my eyes and pretended the track wasn’t overgrown and in disrepair.

Sitting in the grandstand

my mind’s eye visualized folks watching the action on the back straight-away through their binoculars while rooting for their favorite horse.

In 1987, the horse-racing movie, “Let It Ride”, with Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, and Jennifer Tilly, had most of its principal film photography shot at Hialeah Park.

The film captured the excitement of horse racing. Hialeah Park also made an appearance in “Public Enemies” and “The Champ” with Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway and Ricky Schroder.

All that excitement and noise, real, and in movies, is replaced today by an eerie quiet filled with the silent ghosts of the past.

While standing looking out toward the infield lake dotted with Flamingos a door closed and the sound echoed around the empty concrete structure. I wasn’t alone but nearly so.

On March 5, 1979, the park was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Out front the grand stairway and fountain still invite visitors to come in and enjoy.

But the last race run at Hialeah on May 22, 2001, was won by the filly, Cheeky Miss. No horses are racing around that track today.

Time continues to move forward and the memories we hold are what gives life to a grand old lady like Hialeah Park.

See you next time.

A Quest For the Holy Grail: A Little Baseball, A Little History

Tags

Florida, football, Hernando DeSoto, history, hurricane, travel

Our second day of the Spring Training quest found us once again at Lecom Park

for a game with the Detroit Tigers. The Bucco’s didn’t fair as well on this day losing to the guys from Lakeland (Detroit’s Spring Training home). The final was 3-5 with the wrong team scoring more.

However, we were excited to see some of the familiar Pirates from last year in the starting line-up.

The prospective opening day starting line-up began the game the day before and a lot of players we didn’t know replaced them. Today, we were watching a bunch of guys who played for the big club last year and we were thrilled to be rooting for them.

Conor Joe and Tsug-che Cheng both hit solo homeruns for the Pirates and third baseman Brannigan, whose first name escapes me, made a super diving catch to his right and from his knees threw a strike to first for an out. That was a thrilling moment.

Wandering around I found the smash burger Bar-B-Que and enjoyed a delicious one hot off the grill. To add to the pleasure Jimmy Buffet’s “Cheeseburger In Paradise”

was played over the loudspeakers as I was finishing my treat. That was cool. On my walk around the park, I caught Jane’s favorite catcher Jason Delay

warming up Quinn Priester who pitched two strong innings.

I’m experiencing baseball as an ever increasing escape from the vitriol, hate and pain being strewn about in our world. The escape was helpful also after a morning visit to the DeSoto National Memorial on the Manatee River near where DeSoto landed in Florida. His story is as ugly as any of the European conquerors of North and South America stories are.

Hernando DeSoto (c. 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a wealthy Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula.

He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro’s conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru. Following the violent expedition into what is South America today DeSoto returned to Spain in 1536, with wealth gathered from plunder in the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. He was admitted into the prestigious Order of Santiago and “granted the right to conquer Florida”.

He is best known for leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States (through Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and most likely Arkansas). Much of this information was gleaned from Wikipedia)

In May 1539, DeSoto landed nine ships with over 620 men and 220 horses in an area generally identified as south Tampa Bay. 

While exploring Florida’s West Coast, he encountered native ambushes and conflicts along the way.

Hernando de Soto’s army seized the food stored in the villages, captured women to be used as slaves for the soldiers’ sexual gratification, and forced men and boys to serve as guides and bearers. The army fought two battles with Timucua groups, resulting in heavy Timucua casualties. After defeating the resisting Timucuan warriors, Hernando de Soto had 200 executed, in what was to be called the Napituca Massacre, the first large-scale massacre by Europeans in the current United States.

DeSoto is the first European documented as having crossed the Mississippi River.

We still haven’t figured out how to live peacefully together while sharing the resources of this planet.

See you next time.

Random Thoughts: A Note to Lee Greenwood

Tags

sacred

Lee, I am proud to be an American. I’m proud to be a citizen of a country that claims all people are free no matter what their skin color or religion, economic status, or nationality. I’m not so proud of being part of a country that separates some people as less than the ruling party.

I’m proud to be an American. I’m proud to be a citizen of a country that admits its mistakes and learns from them, so the mistakes are not repeated. I’m not so proud of being part of a country that wants to erase its history because the story makes some white folks uncomfortable.

I’m proud to be an American. I’m proud to be a citizen of a country that shares its wealth with the most unfortunate members of society. I’m not so proud of being part of a country that demands less input from the wealthy and more from the middle class.

I’m proud to be an American. I’m proud to be a citizen of a country that cares for its elderly, sick, poor, and disabled. I’m not so proud of being part of a country ready to end life essential support to that same population.

I’m proud to be an American. I’m proud to be a citizen of a country that holds free and fair elections where losers continue to support the democratic process. I’m not so proud of being part of a country where violence takes the place of peaceful transitions in power.

I’m proud to be an American. I’m proud to be a citizen of a country where politicians accept the results of elections by the people. I’m not so proud of being part of a country were losing politicians incite attacks on American institutions.

I’m proud to be an American. I’m proud to be an American where religious holy books are respected by all faiths. I’m not so proud of being part of a country where a politician can turn sacred scripture into a political prop and fund raiser.

I’m proud to be an American. I’m proud to be a citizen in a country where we can debate and discuss our differences with people holding different beliefs. I’m not so proud to be a citizen in a country where people who disagree with me are considered enemies, evil and disposable.

I’m proud to be an American. Just not the America you and Donald Trump are proud of.

See you next time.

A Quest for the Holy Grail: A Touch of Wizardry

Tags

books, fantasy, Harry Potter, Hogwarts, travel, Universal Studios

Chuck and Mary Jo (Brother and Sister-in-law) dragged me out of the comfort of my retirement world into the Harry Potter world at Universal studios, Orlando, Florida. I saw all the movies back in the day and Jeff (Brother-in-law) and I visited Harry Potter world on another quest but I still don’t remember much about the whole phenomenon surrounding Hogwarts.

Universal, on the other hand, recognizes a gold mine when it sees one and Harry Potter’s gold vein runs deep and long. Visitors are guided to track 9 ¾ with ease to board the train for Hogsmeade Village.

The Village is almost as crowded now as it was on opening week when we could not take a step that wasn’t coordinated with the other million and a half wizards and muggles exploring the wizardly village. Undeterred by the crowd we pushed our way through to Hogwarts School and “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey”.

Being larger than 90% of muggles Chuck and I were able to create a path for Mary Jo to reach our destination. The reality is Mary Jo doesn’t need any help getting anywhere she wants to go. But, it made Chuck and I feel good pretending she needed us to work through the crowd.

At this point it is necessary to note that neither Chuck nor Mary Jo are ride takers. Both suffer with motion sickness, but they were determined to conquer one ride. Well, to be fair they had managed to take the staid Hogwarts Express to reach Hogsmeade Village. They barely survived “Forbidden Journey! I had to hold Chuck up and Mary Jo had to walk to settle her rolling insides after they stumbled off the ride.

I had a great time on the ride.

After recovering from the trauma of chasing a snitch and being assaulted by Gringott’s dragon we arrived at the purple bus (The Night Bus) which denotes the entrance to Diagon Alley in downtown London just past San Francisco. You can be anywhere in a make believe world.

The place was crawling with Muggles,

but we managed to wander around and take in all the sites during our stay in the wizardly world

before returning to the almost real world of Universal, Florida.

We paused along the walk of fame in Hollywood,

where few people interfered with our wandering, before coming face to face with a legend or two.

That Cadillac had a great body.

Mary Jo was most excited about the palace guard at the Mummy ride.

He was really ripped!

We caught our uber

and returned safely to the real world carrying some fun memories of our day for future family sharing.

See you next time.

Random Thoughts: What Next?

Tags

blog, depression, mental-health, poetry, Trump, writing

I’m exhausted – depressed – sad – frightened for my grandchildren – angry – and appalled that so many Americans are ready to give a violent malignant narcissist the reigns of authoritarian destruction of the United States of America.

I’m exhausted – depressed – sad – frightened for my grandchildren – angry – and appalled that in the name of Jesus (The Prince of Peace) prophets holding AR-15s spout anti-Christ like speech to a receptive audience anxious to take up arms against an imaginary enemy.

I’m exhausted – depressed – sad – frightened for my grandchildren – angry – and appalled that so many Americans believe violence is an acceptable political action.

I’m exhausted – depressed – sad – frightened for my grandchildren – angry – and appalled that the MAGA political party has zero interest in governing for the good of the people and that they continue to be elected by folks supporting the actions that are harmful to them.

I’m exhausted – depressed – sad – frightened for my grandchildren – angry – and appalled that disinformation and misinformation can be dispensed without any fact checking to correct the harm being done to the fabric of America.

I’m exhausted – depressed – sad – frightened for my grandchildren – angry – and appalled that so many Americans believe someone who doesn’t look like them is stupid, a criminal, evil and/or subhuman.

I’m exhausted – depressed – sad – frightened for my grandchildren – angry – and appalled at what happens next in MAGA land.

I’m exhausted!